(October 2, 1869 - January 30, 1948)
People called him "Mahatma" (Great Soul)

Using non-violence as a means for change, Mahatma Gandhi led the people of India to independence from British rule in 1947. Today, he is recognized as one of the greatest spiritual and political leaders of the twentieth century.

Gandhi was born in Gujarat, India. After receiving his law degree in England, he served as a legal advisor in South Africa. Here he experienced racial segregation and widespread denial of civil and political rights as a non-white.

One winter night, traveling on a train from Durban to Pretoria, he was forcibly evicted from the first-class compartment because of the color of his skin. His life changed. Gandhi stayed in South Africa for 20 years to organize and lead a movement of non-violent passive resistance and civil disobedience.

At the age of 45, he returned to India to campaign against the unjust laws that denied the Indians their political and civil rights and for India's independence. He organized protest marches and other tools of non-violent passive resistance. The British government tried to suppress these campaigns numerous times by imprisoning Gandhi and his followers. Gandhi could have retaliated with force, but he chose the path of non-violence. India gained its independence from the British on August 15, 1947.

In modern history, Gandhi is recognized as the first person to use non-violence as the tool to bring about social and political changes in society. Inspired by Gandhi's example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully employed non-violent civil disobedience beginning with his campaign to end racial segregation in Montgomery, Alabama. This paved the way to equal civil and political rights that we enjoy today in our society. Both men epitomize the triumph of the human spirit when non-violence is chosen as the guiding light.

On January 30, 1948, at the age of 78 on his way to lead his evening prayer meeting, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.